Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Bourbon; Crawford; Cherokee; Benton; Morgan; Miller; Maries; Vernon; St. Clair; Hickory; Camden; Pulaski; Phelps; Barton; Cedar; Polk; Dallas; Laclede; Texas; Dent; Jasper; Dade; Greene; Webster; Wright; Newton; Lawrence; Christian; Douglas; Howell; Shannon; McDonald; Barry; Stone; Taney; Ozark; Oregon
McDonald County, Missouri severe weather history spans 652 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 31.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #471 nationally and #25 in Missouri.
652
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
28
Direct injuries
$43.4M
Property damage
The record
What the McDonald County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, McDonald County, Missouri severe weather history averages 9.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 235 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 618 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the McDonald County, Missouri record is flash flood, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $23.3M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in McDonald County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 207 | 0 | $23.3M | 2.75 | 1959–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 177 | 0 | $1.1M | 70 | 1955–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 154 | 5 | $5.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 59 | 0 | $10.1M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 29 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2025 |
| Tornado | 24 | 0 | $3.6M | F2 | 1954–2019 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2008–2008 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2017 |
Decade by decade
McDonald County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
23 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-05-22 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 17.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-11-15 | EF2 | 1 | 12 | 28.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-04-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-10-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-03-24 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 26.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in McDonald County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 4, 2005 | Flash Flood | NOEL | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2019 | Flash Flood | ANDERSON | 1 | 0 | $800K |
| Aug 8, 2013 | Flash Flood | JANE | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Jun 12, 2007 | Flash Flood | PINEVILLE | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Apr 15, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROCKY COMFORT | 0 | 9 | $125K |
| Apr 11, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | LONGVIEW | 0 | 4 | $25K |
| Jun 28, 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | MT SHIRA | 0 | 3 | $5K |
| Dec 15, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Excessive heavy rainfall caused rapid rises to occur on the Beaver Branch and Indian Creek. A home along Beaver Branch was swept off its foundation and washed downstream. An elderly woman in the home was unable to escape and perished in the flood waters. A bridge on Main Street received significant damage from rapidly moving high water where Beaver Branch flows through the middle of town. Significant damage occurred to a building in the vicinity of the bridge. Numerous evacuations were performed by emergency crews from homes, apartments and businesses. Around 80 homes and businesses received water damage as water several inches deep entered the structures. Some structures had as much as 3 feet of water in them. The dollar damage amount is a summary for all damages in McDonald County for this event.
This storm report will contain the total estimated damages and cost for the flooding event including one fatality for the county. A vehicle was washed off the road on Highway 90 at Brush Creek just west of Jane. She was driving eastbound at 4:50 am when her car was swept into the stream, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Multiple people had to be rescued at campgrounds along the Elk River near Noel. Several roads and low water crossings were severely damaged due to flooding. Several homes were flooded.
A 66 year old male died after driving into a flooded low water crossing. Witnesses report he drove a truck into 5 feet of swiftly flowing water at the intersection of Klondike Road and the Beamon Hollow Branch of the Buffalo Creek. Numerous other locations across McDonald County experienced flash flooding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
23,701
Population (ACS)
$155K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 23, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 9, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Mc Natt 130
- Powell 129
- Anderson 109
- Noel 102
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in McDonald County, Missouri?
652 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $43.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in McDonald County?
Hail, with 207 recorded events — 31.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed McDonald County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover McDonald County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include McDonald County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is McDonald County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates McDonald County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 64 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the McDonald County, Missouri severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Livingston County 236
- Macon County 328
- Linn County 252
- Madison County 179
- Lincoln County 390
- Maries County 287
Cite this page
“McDonald County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/mcdonald-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.